


We all become what we pretend to be

by SlantedKnitting



Series: kinkalot 2020 challenges [8]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anonymous Sex, Costume Parties & Masquerades, M/M, Masks, Modern Era, Public Sex, Sex Party
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-30
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:33:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,578
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26192707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlantedKnitting/pseuds/SlantedKnitting
Summary: Merlin goes to a party--a kind of party he's never been to before--to forget about his feelings for Arthur.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: kinkalot 2020 challenges [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1861774
Comments: 24
Kudos: 143
Collections: Kinkalot 2020





	We all become what we pretend to be

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Kinkalot 2020 challenge 3: Kink Link
> 
> This is the uncut version :)

Merlin wasn’t nervous, per se, he just wasn’t entirely sure what to do with himself. He’d never been to a party like this before. He’d never even known such parties existed until a few weeks ago. Leave it to Gwaine to know about something like this. And to somehow get Merlin an invite.

He adjusted the mask covering most of his face. It was a delicate thing, covering his eyes and nose, and it made him feel like the Phantom of the Opera.

Everyone else in the room was decked out as well, faces all obscured. Merlin took his time looking, admiring the craftsmanship that must have gone into so many different masks.

There was one in particular that caught his eye. It was a full-face mask, obscuring the wearer completely but for his eyes. It even had tufts of feathers covering most of the man’s neck and hair. It was a beautiful mask, gold and blush coloured, with fanciful designs painted onto it.

It was a very feminine mask, which just made it all the more intriguing on the man wearing it. He was alone by a wall, eyeing the rest of the party. His gaze met Merlin’s briefly before looking away.

Merlin finished off his glass of wine before heading over.

“Is it hot in here, or is that just you?”

It was a terrible opening line, but it wasn’t like he had to pretend to have honourable intentions. Not at a party like this. And besides, the man _was_ hot. He was around Merlin’s height, and he looked fantastic in his dark suit. Merlin could see his muscles, his pecs and his biceps. He had exactly the body Merlin was after.

The man didn’t say anything in response to Merlin’s terrible line, but from his crinkly eyes, Merlin could tell he was smiling.

“So… do you come here often?” Merlin asked, deciding he might as well stick to his theme.

The stranger shook his head.

“Me neither, actually.”

The man tilted his head and looked Merlin up and down, like he was considering him. Merlin let him look. He had beautiful blue eyes, almost like—

No. Merlin wasn’t here to think about Arthur. He was here to very much _stop_ thinking about Arthur. Arthur was unattainable, and Merlin was here to move the fuck on.

The man reached out, brushing his fingers over Merlin’s suit sleeve, trailing his hand along the muscles there. He ran his hand over Merlin’s chest, too, and down his stomach.

The room was getting very warm. The man lifted his hand and brushed a thumb over Merlin’s cheek, even though it was covered by the mask, and Merlin swallowed heavily. He glanced behind him to see people forming small groups, two people there, three people here, five people over in the corner. No one was paying him and the stranger any attention. They were all too busy setting up their own evenings, choosing their partners.

Merlin had chosen this man, and it seemed like the feeling was mutual.

The stranger nodded his head toward the side of the room, and Merlin followed him into one of the sitting booths. There was no table, just lush cushions, and the man pushed Merlin down without saying a word.

“It’s a bit… early, isn’t it?” Merlin asked as the man got down on his knees and rubbed his hands over Merlin’s thighs. Now Merlin could see the top of his head, his dusty blond hair, and errant thoughts of Arthur came back to him, but—

No. This wasn’t Arthur. This was some random person at a party nearly two hours away from the city where Merlin and Arthur lived. This was just a guy. A hot guy. A guy who was interested in Merlin. Unlike Arthur.

The man pressed the heel of his palm against where Merlin was already hard in his trousers.

“I’m, uh… new to this sort of thing,” Merlin said because he felt like he had to. The man didn’t seem deterred by this information. In fact, he just moved in closer, ducking his head down and pressing the lips of his mask to Merlin’s flies.

Merlin took care to remember to breathe as the stranger dragged the contours of the mask up and down the length of his cock. It felt unreasonably good, unreasonably dirty, and Merlin could see eyes flickering their way. They were the only ones doing this so far, and Merlin had no idea what to do with his hands.

The stranger pulled away and tugged at Merlin’s clothes until they were all on the floor and Merlin was left naked except for the mask, and then he took hold of Merlin’s cock and pumped his hand slowly, working Merlin over.

He had beautiful hands, thick and strong, and they looked perfect wrapped around Merlin’s cock. He leaned in close, brushing the tip of Merlin’s cock against the lips of his mask, and Merlin exhaled shakily.

He wanted the man to take off the silly mask and get his actual lips around Merlin’s cock, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. The tease of the mask’s lips was going to have to be enough. Merlin dropped his hands into the man’s hair, feeling how soft it was. It really was just the right shade, too, so close to Arthur’s—

No. Merlin shifted, spreading his legs wider, slumping lower on the seat. He looked around, seeing some groups finally occupied with getting each other undressed rather than watching him. Others, though, were openly staring.

Merlin closed his eyes, trying to forget about the room full of people watching, trying to forget about everything other than the drag of the man’s hand, the sound of the man breathing behind his mask, the pressure of the mask against the head of his cock. Fuck, this was so good. It had been so long since Merlin had done this with anyone, busy as he was with work and his stupid feelings for Arthur—

No. Merlin gasped as the man tugged on his balls. He opened his eyes and watched as the stranger pulled on his cock, not really going fast or hard enough to make him come, just teasing him. His gaze kept flitting between his task and Merlin’s face, like he wasn’t sure which he liked more.

Merlin dared look up at the rest of the room. There were people still watching, but mostly the party had gotten started. There was a naked woman not far away, her breasts being licked by a man whose mask left his mouth uncovered. There was a naked man on the other side of the room, a woman on her knees between his legs. There were two women kissing by the bar. Every one of them had their faces concealed.

Merlin felt hot and wild all over, still shocked that he was really doing this, that there was really a man jerking him off in a room full of strangers. Merlin hadn’t even asked for the man’s name. Not that he really thought he would have gotten a response, silent as the man seemed to want to stay.

The man tightened his grip a little, and Merlin looked back down at him. He was watching Merlin with those blue eyes, and he _really_ looked like Arthur this up close—

No. Merlin closed his eyes again and leaned his head against the wall, letting the man do whatever he wanted to him. He listened to the room, to the soft moans and sighs and gasps coming from all directions, and let himself get lost in the moment.

Then the man shifted up, getting his mask right in Merlin’s face. Merlin could hear him panting on the other side of it. He took a firmer grip on Merlin’s cock, speeding up his hand, and Merlin lifted his hips a little, chasing after his pleasure.

“That’s good,” he whispered.

“Kiss me,” was the reply.

Not thinking of how odd it was, or how that voice sounded like—

No. Merlin leaned up and kissed the mask. He heard the man gasp. He ran his tongue along the crease between the lips and wished he could kiss the man for real, anonymity be damned. Why’d he have to choose such a ridiculous mask, anyway? It might be pretty, but it was a nuisance in this situation. This hint of a kiss, this tease of lips, wasn’t nearly enough.

The man tugged on Merlin’s balls again, and Merlin felt that spark, that tightening, that warning.

“Hey,” he said, “I’m getting close.”

The man nodded and moved back down, rubbing the head of Merlin’s cock over his mask’s lips as if he were applying lipstick. It was so wanton, and Merlin bit down a moan.

“Like really close,” he warned. “Fuck, I’m—”

The man didn’t move away, and Merlin came all over his mask, staining the gold and blush paint.

He slumped back, dropping his hands to his sides and closing his eyes. God, that had felt good.

When he came back to himself, he opened his eyes to see the man palming his own cock through his nice trousers.

“I think it’s my turn,” Merlin said, reaching down and pushing the man’s hand out of the way. “What would you like?”

The man pressed the mask to Merlin’s ear. “Oh,” he said, and Merlin shivered at that familiar tone. “I’ll take anything you have to give, Merlin.”

_No._


End file.
